Goleta’s Valerie Kushnerov Named Communicator of Year by State Association

The California Association of Public Information Officials announced its selection of Valerie Kushnerov as its first-ever Communicator of the Year.

Kushnerov has been serving as the City of Goleta’s public information officer for the past four years. She will be recognized at CAPIO’s annual conference next week.

“Goleta places a high value on community engagement and the distribution of timely, accurate information. We are proud of the work Valerie does on our behalf and are pleased to see her talents acknowledged,” Mayor Michael Bennett said. “It’s an honor for our small city to have one of our own recognized by a statewide organization."

The Communicator of the Year award is presented to the individual who demonstrates exceptional abilities, skills and talents in leading their organization to greater and more successful communications and public engagement and who demonstrated extraordinary success in 2013 for a program, project or year-long communications effort.

“It’s a testament to the City Council that a part-time public information position was established in 2010 when budgets were tight. It demonstrates their commitment to public outreach and engagement,” City Manager Dan Singer said. “Our community expects to hear from us and by having a public information officer we are able to provide timely and pertinent information using a variety of tools. Valerie has brought our outreach to a whole new level and we are pleased at the good work she does on a daily basis.”

Kushnerov started as the part-time public information officer with the city in July 2010.

— Valerie Kushnerov is a public information officer for the City of Goleta.

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